How did Tony Brown do in his first game as Alabama's nickel back?

Alabama made three obvious changes in the secondary after losing star safety Eddie Jackson to a season-ending leg injury.

One was Minkah Fitzpatrick moving from cornerback to Jackson's vacated spot at strong safety.

The two other obvious changes involve Tony Brown, who is the new nickel back when Alabama has five defensive backs on the field and the new dime back when the Tide has six defensive backs in the game.

Saturday's game against LSU was the first test for Brown, the former five-star recruit who had played strictly as a reserve and on special teams after missing the first four games due to an NCAA suspension.

Brown did a "good job" against LSU, coach Nick Saban said of the junior. While Brown's stat line consisted of just one tackle, he helped Alabama hold LSU to 125 yards of total offense during the Tide's 10-0 win.

The main challenge for Brown going forward?

"Just have to work on his confidence and consistency in what he's doing, and sometimes a little bit (more) technique would be helpful to him," Saban said of the 6-foot, 200-pound Brown, a freakish athlete who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.34 seconds during the spring. "The guy is a really good competitor. Just has to channel his energy in the right direction, which he's made tremendous progress at."

After Brown completed his suspension, Saban had a conversation with him about what he had to do in order to move up the depth chart.

One of the main things Saban told Brown: You have to continue to earn the trust of your teammates and coaches.

That's an area Saban is looking for continued growth.

"He's done well in school, kind of getting things right on and off the field, and we're happy with the progress he's made," Saban said. "And hopefully he'll continue to develop a better understanding of how when you're on a team, your role on the team affects everyone in terms of what you do so you can continue to be a good teammate to those you're playing with."